Seal to the Deal
by KaoriUrishda
Summary: A oneshot for a very close friend of mine: Maria is a normal girl working in a bar, but what happens when she if forced to serve a group of rowdy seamen? Follow Maria on her adventure with the Sirius crew and witness a romance blossom.


"Maria! You're falling being!"

"I'm sorry!" the young girl scrambled around the tavern trying to deliver the ordered booze to the patrons.

It was an unusually busy day in the bar; all of the tables were full and the men were quite rowdy. Maria, with her long brown hair in a pony tail and her bluish-green eyes darting to and fro, scurried to fill her orders, but struggled to keep up. The owner yelled orders for her, but her little body could only work so fast. She returned to the counter to gather a few more pints of alcohol and a stern talk with her employer.

"Hey." A deep voice droned right behind Maria.

She spun on her heels with a gasp and collided with the chest of a tall man with an unhappy look clearly on his face. She gazed up into his deep green eyes and shook with slight fear at the menacing look he gave. The alcohol she had been holding splashed down his shirt and dyed the white fabric a yellowish tint. She tried to find her voice buried deep inside, under her fear.

"I-I'm sorry…" her voice squeaked out of her throat.

"This is my favorite shirt." He continued to glare. "You're payin' for the damage."

"I-I don't have much money…"

The man seemed to lose himself in thought for a moment. "Fine. There's only one option then."

Maria felt her chest tighten nervously.

"You'll pay for it with your body."

"W-what?!" her cheeks flushed a deep red at his words.

"What's this I hear?" The bar owner peered at the two.

"Th-that's…!"

"I'm going to take this girl. She's going to work off the debt she owes for ruining my shirt." The blond man stated.

This sent the owner into a laughing frenzy. "Right! She isn't much of a worker!"

"S-Sir!"

"Take her if you want! She's not much help to me!"

Maria's heart sank at his words and the situation at hand.

The green-eyed man gave an evil smile and looked to Maria. "Looks like you'll be working for us now."

_Us?!_ Maria panicked as he took hold of her arm and dragged her from the bar. She protested with her soft voice, but the man gave no sign of letting her go. She threw her voice out with a little more power, but he still did not have any intention of letting her go. Soon she found herself at the docks looking on all of the ships. She was pulled to a fairly large ship and, onboard, it seemed almost empty.

"Welcome back, Russell!" A very young man with red hair called as he walked on deck carrying a barrel. "Oh! You've brought a woman back…" He gave a blush.

"Don't get any ideas!" Russell snapped at the young one. "She ruined my shirt and now she has to pay for it!"

"Well, why doesn't she just pay for it with physical money?"

"Says she's got none." And he directed his gaze back at Maria skeptically. "So she can pay with her body.

"Russell! You've invited someone to the party without running it by me first." This man had chin length brown hair and hazel eyes and he was clad in fine red garments along with a dignified and glorious hat atop his head.

_The captain maybe?_

"Captain…" Russell diverted his eyes almost like he was ashamed.

"Did you really forget to bring this up to Captain? You aren't a very good crewman are you?" a man with slicked back brown hair and an eye patch appeared suddenly along with a dark skinned man with short black hair.

"It sounds to me like you kidnapped the poor girl!" the dark skinned man spoke with a scolding tone and sharp eyes.

"Well if she had money then maybe this wouldn't have happened to her!" Russell countered with an equally sharp tone.

Maria was just staring at all of the men with a nervous mind when the captain gained her attention by placing his face extremely close to hers. She gave a squeak and pulled away slightly. This made him laugh heartily.

"Well, at least she isn't bad looking! A little underdeveloped compared to past women, but she has potential!"

"W-what?!" Maria's stomach fluttered and her cheeks flared with an intense heat.

"That's not what I brought her for!" Russell shouted, his face red with anger.

Suddenly, gunshots were heard in the port; Maria gave a little scream and ducted out of instinct.

The man with the eye patch looked over the side of the ship, "Navy?"

The young man pointed to the dock. "There's Nate!"

Russel scoffed. "Gettin' the Navy's attention before we've even left…"

The captain spoke up in a powerful voice. "Eduardo, get the ship ready; we get out of here as soon as Nate's onboard."

"Aye, Captain." The one with the eye patch nodded and hurried to the wheel.

The captain turned and gave orders to the rest of the men then looked to Maria with a sly smirk.

The one called Nate finally boarded and gave the captain an apologetic look, but the captain just gave a smile and a shake of his head before he called out the orders to leave the port.

Maria panicked at the sound of those words. "W-wait!

A hand clasped to her shoulder and pulled her back. The dark skinned man gave a sweet smile. "You should get down; don't want to get shot, now do we?"

"B-but!"

He was already gone before she could get her protest in. More bullets whizzed by her head and she couched on the ground to avoid the spray. The men called out to each other; communicating to save everyone's lives. The shouting of the navy men could also be heard as they cursed at the ship and their getaway. When the ship was finally safe from the gun and cannon fire the men cheered and laughed at their exciting escape.

Maria still coward behind a box on the ground unknowing that the battle was over now. She was brought back from her fear by the same man that had told her to get down. He gave her the same smile as before, "It's alright now. You can get up again." He offered his hand and she slowly accepted it and was pulled to her feet.

The rest of the men gathered in the middle of the deck and conversed.

"What happened Nate; you rarely ever let yourself get spotted." The young man questioned.

Nate, who wore a black bandana over what looked like sandy colored hair, looked to the ground with a thoughtful look. "I found a vendor that had a lot of nice ingredients and I guess I stayed too long; someone recognized me and notified the navy."

"Way to be careless." Russell commented.

Eduardo looked to Russell with a knowing smirk and a critical eye. "And how many times have we needed an emergency escape because you got in a fight at a port?"

Russell was surprised, but had no sort of comeback. The crew gave little snickers and Russell growled. "Shut up Thomas!" and he slapped the back of the boy's head.

"Ow!" he whined. "Why only me?!"

"Why not?"

"Alright, alright!" the captain laughed and gained everyone's attention. "Just be careful from now on. We all know how high the bounties are getting; we can't afford to let ourselves get caught!"

_Bounties…_ Maria though for a moment; the navy chasing these men, bounties, sailing the ocean…

"Pirates?!" she cried suddenly.

The men turned to her with questioning looks.

"Y-You're all pirates?!"

Russell raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me you didn't know that already?"

"She hasn't heard of the Sirius?" Eduardo inquired.

"Now, now," the dark skinned man waved a hand at the men. "I'm sure she was too shocked by Russell's actions to even notice it. It was all just a misunderstanding."

"What bad luck…" Nate said unenthusiastically. He then gave a shrug, "I'm going to prepare the food." And he walked away. He was so calm!

The captain laughed again. "Russell didn't mention that he was recruiting you to a pirate ship?"

"P-please! I can't be here! Please take me back to Yamamoto!"

"Sorry, can't." Captain simply replied.

"What…?"

"The navy is coming after us now. We can't just turn around and sail into the navy's hands." Eduardo glared at Maria.

"But… my family…"

Captain directed his attention to the dark skinned man. "Christopher…"

He gave the captain a nod and gently patted Maria's head. "There, there. I know it's upsetting, but I'm sure we will be able to work something out." His lips curved into a sweet understanding smile.

His words were kind, but Maria still felt tears surface in her eyes.

A loud annoyed sigh was heard. "Geeze, what a crybaby."

"Russell." Christopher scolded.

"I hope you like girls like that Russell because you're going to have to get cozy with her!"

What?!" both Maria and Russell shouted in unison.

Captain laughed. "You brought her aboard; she's you're responsibility! That means she'll be sleeping in your room!"

"No way! I don't want her in my room!"

"Guess you should have thought about that before you dragged her on board." Eduardo gave an amused smile and firmly slapped Russell's back.

Christopher looked to all of the men. "We should probably introduce ourselves first; I'm sure it's intimidating to be around so many strange men."

"Of course! Christopher is right!" The captain called enthusiastically. "I, of course, am captain of this ship; Captain Morgan."

"I'm Thomas!" the young redhead said with a large, kind smile.

"I'm the doctor of this ship, Christopher. If you don't feel well, don't hesitate to come and see me." The man with the dark skin smiled sweetly.

The man with the eye patch was not as friendly as his other crewmates. "All you need to know is that you need to stay away from me and the helm. I don't need a woman getting in my way." He commented while pulling out a shinning silver gun.

Maria gasped and ducted behind Christopher in fear.

"Eduardo!" Christopher scolded. He turned to Maria with an apologetic smile. "That's Eduardo; he's a little rough around the edges, but he's not as bad as he seems."

The last on deck that needed an introduction was Russell, but he refused to say anything. Christopher stared him down attempting to intimidate him into being polite to Maria; it didn't work. Eduardo shook his head and returned to his post at the wheel and Thomas cleared his throat before saying that he would bring the rest of the booze on deck. Morgan stretched with a yawn and told Christopher to wake him up when everything was ready.

Russell finally glanced to Maria and heavily sighed. "Let's go already…"

Christopher gave a smile and walked below deck contently.

"G-go where…?"

"I'm showing you around the deck, okay?!" Russell shouted grumpily.

Maria cringed at his loud, harsh voice, but nodded and followed behind him none-the-less.

Russell showed Maria all of the important rooms; the navigation room, the dining room, the kitchen where she was also formally introduced to Nathan the chef; Russell even pointed out the rooms of the other crew men. Finally, he lead her to his own personal room.

Maria looked around the room slightly surprised. "I didn't know ships had personal rooms for the crew…"

"Well, the Sirius does. Got a problem with that?"

She shook her head quickly. Russell scoffed at her and looked around the room for a moment.

"Guess this is where you'll be staying until we can get rid of you." He turned and glanced at her before moving to the door once again. "Come on."

Maria followed without a word. He lead her to the last room of the ship; the bathroom. She gazed in awe at the room. A bathroom… on a ship?! She had never heard of such a thing!

"I didn't know this was possible on a ship!"

"For the Sirius it is!" Russell snapped.

"Okay, okay! You don't have to yell at me!"

Russell scoffed yet again and shook his head. Finally done showing her around, he was ready to put her to work. He stripped himself of his shirt without a word of warning which threw Maria off guard. She gasped as he unbuttoned his shirt and turned her gaze away. He called her attention back and threw his shirt in her blushing face. "Get to work already; that's why I brought you here."

Maria could not find the words to protest.

"You better do a good job too. Otherwise I'll through you overboard." And with that he left the bathroom leaving Maria to herself.

She sighed and looked at the shirt she was in charge of. There was a large stain down the front from the alcohol she had spilt on him. It even smelled horribly like a bar. She figured that she did at least owe him a clean shirt, and with no money to pay for a new one, she might as well get to cleaning it herself.

The shower was a tool to be reckoned with; it fought against her for a bit, but she found out how to use it properly. She was about to start washing Russell's shirt when Eduardo walked in. He raised an eyebrow to her.

"What are you doing?"

"I… was going to wash Russell's shirt." And she held up the stained article.

He eyed the water and the single shirt. "You're not planning on wasting that water are you?" He gave a threatening scary glare to Maria.

She gulped and looked to the water nervously."Umm…"

"Let me answer that question for you." He disappeared from the door momentarily leaving Maria confused and still frightened of him

He returned soon enough carrying a load of what looked like clothes. He dropped them on the floor and smirked at her. "If you're going to be washing Russell's shirt, you can wash my clothes as well. Have fun."

Maria stared at the clothes as Eduardo walked away. Another sigh escaped her lips and she cautiously picked up one of Eduardo's articles of clothing. She certainly did not want to get on Eduardo's bad side especially when he had such an intimidating glare. She had to wash his clothes along with Russell's shirt; it would not be all that hard.

"Oh, so you're on laundry duty now? Great!" Morgan's bright smile appeared in the doorway. "I'll go get my clothes too!"

"N-no, wait!"

He was gone as quickly as he appeared. Maria groaned knowing that her load was slowly growing. If she didn't get it done quickly, should would not make a good impression on any of them and there was the possibility that she would be thrown overboard.

Maria shook her head ridding herself of those frightening thoughts and got to work washing the pirates' clothes. Morgan popped his head back in and saw the determined look etched on Maria's face and gave a smirk. He dropped his clothes next to the already made pile and walked out without so much as a glance from Maria. She was too engrossed in her work and doing it well.

Morgan chuckled lowly and walked to his quarters with an amused smirk. Perhaps this girl was going to be useful to them in the long run. Her kidnapping to the ship may prove to be one of the better things that happened to the pirates as of late.

Eduardo stopped by the bathroom a few hours later to find, to his surprise, not only his, but the captain's laundry hanging from any of the ledges in the room drying; spotless and seemingly fresh. He eyed the room and gave an amused whistle. Maria's head snapped up to meet his eye and entertained smirked. She gave a nervous laugh and smile and pulled Russell's shirt from the water.

"I didn't think you would do it. Thought maybe you would have more fight in you."

"I didn't want to be thrown overboard…" She snapped the shirt over the tub.

He examined his clothing along the walls. "Not a bad job at all. And most of these are already dry."

Maria blushed very lightly at the praise she received.

"I'll be taking these." And he took back possession of his clothing. "And I'll take these back to captain," he added as he also took the captain's garbs.

Maria wore a silly smile on her face as Eduardo left the room and she hung Russell's shirt. Eduardo praised her; she had done an adequate job which meant that it was less likely that she would find herself dropped into the cold, unrelenting sea. The job may have taken her long hours, but the reward would be far superior to any labor she would put out.

Russell's shirt was made of thin material and, as such, was done drying sooner than she had expected. She headed back to Russell's room, shirt in hand and a song humming on her lips. She was unusually chipper about the praise she received, perhaps because her work was rarely recognized at the tavern where she had formerly been employed. Even if the praise came from a pirate aboard a pirate ship, it made her unbelievably happy.

She walked into Russell's room still humming quietly, but quickly ceased her happy tune as she saw him lying on his bed with a bored look on his face and his torso still obviously bare. She gasped and spun on her heels to divert her eyes, but that did not erase the image that was already in her head; and it certainly did not stop her cheeks from flaring with a passionate heat. Russell heard her gasp and glanced at her. Rising from his bed he walked over to her and noticed his now clean shirt in her hands.

His lips curled up into a happy smile. "Hey, look at that; you actually did a pretty good job!" He reached over her shoulder and took his shirt from her.

If at all possible, Maria's cheeks burned an even brighter and hotter red than before. Russell replaced his shirt on his torso and examined it. He whistled and complimented the work once again saying that it was just like new.

"G-good!" she hollered inadvertently.

"Hey, no need to shout. Don't let the compliments go to your head."

"R-right…"

He stretched and plopped down on his bed once again. "Well, time to hit the sack. You better be ready to be put to work tomorrow! G'night!"

"Wait! Where am I going to sleep?"

"Hmm? On the floor o' course."

"The floor?! B-but why?!"

Russell sat up in bed and turned a raised brow at her. "What do ya mean why? This _is_ my room and _my_ bed!"

"But… I'm a girl! Sure I spilt booze all over your shirt, but I cleaned it! And you should _never_ make a girl sleep on the floor!"

He scoffed. "Sissy!"

Maria's cheeks flared again; this time out of anger. "I am not!"

"Then why're ya complainin' about the floor?"

"Fine! I don't need your bed!"

Russell attempted to hold his angry glare, but it was too much for him. He erupted in laughter which caused Maria to look at him in bewilderment. She waited for him to explain his laughter, but he only continued to laugh. His eyes began to water and he held his stomach the longer he laughed.

Finally, he calmed himself and took a few deep breaths. "Oh man! Just take the bed!"

"…huh?" Maria stared at Russell in total confusion.

"Just take it! I don't need it!" he slid off of the bed still chuckling lightly and sat against the wooden wall. When he finally laid down on the floor, he still snickered from time to time, but he managed to fall asleep in no time.

Maria was hesitant at first, but her body was weak and her eyes tired. Her feet dragged across the floor and she slowly, cautiously sat on the bed. It certainly was not the most comfortable piece of furniture she had even sat on, but it would be much better when compared to the floor. She slipped under the covers and suddenly felt relaxed. There was a scent on the covers and the pillow that comforted her; was this what Russell smelled like? It was nice for a pirate of the sea; salty yet sweet and soothing. Her nervous butterflies fluttered away and her eyes slid shut without any protest. Perhaps being on a pirate ship would not be so bad…

The days seemed to fly by with all of the work that was assigned; mopping the deck, washing the laundry, helping Nathan with the food, and even cleaning some of the rooms. There was so much work to be done that Maria hardly had any time to think of home.

She was praised by everyone, especially Christopher. He was kind and always looking out for her when Russell, Morgan, or Eduardo decided to tease her. Thomas took his time to help her whenever he thought she needed it most and sometimes when she did not even need it. Nathan in the meantime rarely said anything to her; he preferred to keep to himself.

There had been little news about where the ship was headed until the night of the full moon when the Sirius crew partied all night long.

"We're headed to Losal!" the Captain called out in a slur as he raised his mug high in the air.

The crew looked to him in surprise.

"Isn't it super rainy there _all_ the time?" Russell questioned.

Eduardo released an irritated sigh and chugged more booze.

Maria leaned in towards Russell and inquired softly, "What's wrong with Eduardo?"

"He doesn't like rain or storms; he does all he can to avoid them. I heard that his hair gets all curly because of the humidity." He smirked picturing Eduardo's features.

Morgan explained that the port of Losal sold some very rare and highly sought after items. He was ready to pick up a special item from an old friend and he wanted to arrive as soon as possible. Eduardo only gave minimum protest, but eventually agreed to set the course in the morning.

The captain's request sparked Thomas's curiosity and he talked to Maria at length about the possibilities, though he only became drunker as the night dragged on and his thoughts grew wilder and wilder. Maria laughed at Thomas' crazy ideas and waved them off turning her attention to Russell whose face had become slightly flushed. He giggled and leaned his head on Maria's shoulder with a goofy grin.

"R-Russell…" she weakly protested.

"Man, does everything always spin this much?" he continued to snicker. "And does Thomas' face always look like that?"

"What; somethin' on my face?" Thomas glided his hands over his face clumsily causing Russell to laugh uncontrollably.

Maria sighed and tried to straighten Russell up only to have him rest his head on her shoulder again. "Okay," she finally said. "I think it's time for bed for you drunken fool." She stood and wrapped one of Russell's arms around her and struggled to stand him on his feet.

At her attempts Russell snickered again and wobbly stood while leaning on Maria. "We going somewhere?"

"Yes, your room."

"Oooh, Maria wants Russell all to herself!" Morgan teased in slurred words.

"Think what you want; you're all drunk anyway." And she hobbled down the stairs and to Russell's room to deliver him to his bed.

She attempted to drop him and let him situate himself, but when she went to release him onto the bed, he failed to let her go and pulled her to the bed as well. Maria's cheeks burned a bright red as she loomed over Russell and his goofy grin. She apologized, and went to stand again, but Russell grabbed her waist and pulled her to his level with a chuckle. She gasped and attempted to pull away, but, even drunk, Russell was strong.

Russell snuggled her closely and sighed into her hair. "You're so soft… and warm… like a pillow."

_A pillow…? Really…?_ She thought as she finally gave up the struggle.

She wished she could pull away, he did not smell the same as his bed; he smelled of booze which made her nose cringe. She sighed and relaxed her body allowing herself to be used as a cuddling pillow for Russell. His soft snores could easily be heard in her ears and his breath against her head gave rise to goose bumps. Her heart raced the more she thought of how the two of them were in that moment.

It was almost… perfect.

Just as Russell had said, the port of Losal was gloomy and rainy. Eduardo sailed the ship to the dock, but from there he refused to leave his room. Maria had sworn that she saw the tips of his hair begin to curl before he shut himself away. She giggled at the thought and followed the rest of the crew to land.

Although the weather was dreary, many people seemed to be roaming around the streets and children happily played in the puddles that formed off in the dirt. Morgan excused himself to receive his precious item while Nathan and Thomas headed off to do some shopping for the food. Christopher smiled before departing; to where he kept to himself. Only Russell and Maria were left.

Russell glanced up at the sky quickly and then examined the streets. "What do you wanna do?"

"Hmm?" Maria gazed at him lazily.

"We've been on a ship for while; you gotta want to do something."

Maria pondered for a moment. "I think I walk would be nice…"

"In this weather? Are you serious?" he gave her an irritated look.

"O-oh… maybe you're right…" she diverted her eyes sadly realizing that he seemed to be less enthused about the rain than she had originally thought.

He sighed loudly and waved his hand to motion her forward. "Come on; let's go."

Maria suddenly felt chipper. They walked through the streets and she smiled happily glancing over at Russell from time to time. Apparently her smile was contagious because Russell's lips eventually parted to reveal a smile of his own. A shop owner offered them a parasol as they walked by and Russell turned him down. He, however, persisted in allowing them to take it as it was very likely to start raining again. Russell sighed and took the rain shield from him. The owner smiled and told them to enjoy their walk together.

Before long the rain had inevitably started once again. Maria giggled as Russell opened the parasol with a grumble and held it above their heads. Maria teased him about his pride and Russell pouted slightly and removed the parasol from above her head. She laughed and pulled his hand back holding it tightly in her own two hands. Russell smirked and attempted to pull away one more time, but Maria held her own and pulled him back once more.

Finally, after he thought of brilliant revenge, he dropped the parasol into her hands and stepped into the rain quickening his pace.

"Russell!" she called and started to chase after him.

She closed in and Russell's lips stretched across his face. Once she was close enough he found the nearest puddle and jumped into the center with all of his might. The water cascaded through the air and down on Maria's legs. She cried out in shock and looked down in disbelief.

"What was that for?!" howled angrily forgetting to hold the parasol up to shield her from the falling rain.

Russell could only laugh at the look on her face. He neared her and brushed some of the wet strands from her face. "What; you afraid of a little water?"

Maria blushed at the warmth of his hand on her cheek; had her heart pounded against her chest harder for just a brief moment? Her voice refused to travel through her throat to answer his question. He only laughed at her silence and dumbfounded face.

"Got nothin' to say?"

She only continued to examine his features; his sparkling emerald irises, grinning lips, straight teeth, even his wet blond hair sticking to his face. Was this man really a pirate; how was it that he seemed so perfect and yet so scandalous? He was wanted by the navy. He took refuge on a pirate ship among other men that also had bounties on their heads. He probably had even killed people… so how could he seem so innocent and wonderful?

"There he is! That's the guy on the poster!"

Gasps emitted from both of their throats as they turned to the sound of multiple male voices. Russell swore under his breath and placed himself between Maria and the approaching men.

"Stay behind me!"

"O-okay!"

Russell drew his swords with a wild glare aimed at the intruders. "Lookin' for some easy money? Plan on turning me into the navy for the bounty?"

The men drew their swords and returned his intense glare. "We don't need filth like you in our village!"

It was a smirk that replaced the thin line that Russell's lips had made. He gave a low chuckle and engaged in battle without hesitation.

Maria's eyes were fixed on Russell and his impressive skills. The silver of his swords flew and danced through the air. He sliced through air and rain and collided with the swords of the other men, smile shining like the missing sun.

"Quick, grab the girl!" Another man appeared from behind Maria and gripped her wrist suddenly.

"Come with us, we'll save you from this man!" he reassured and jerked her towards the village.

"No! Stop!" she resisted against his pull.

He glanced at her with surprise. "Are you one of them…?"

"Let me go!" she cried and pulled against him once again.

"How could you ally yourself with pirates?!" He jerked her forward roughly.

Maria gasped and attempted an escape again, but to no avail. He screamed angrily at her and squeezed her wrist tighter. Russell glanced over, his opponents lying on the ground unconscious, and called out to Maria. Seeing Russell rushing towards them the man sneered and slapped Maria away with such force that she crumpled to the ground and curled into a tight ball.

Russell's eyes only saw red in that moment; the connection of the man's hand to Maria's delicate cheek and her body hitting the ground threw him into a rage. He charged the assailant with a battle cry and swords raised high. Metal scraped against metal and sparks flew from the trembling swords. Though the battle had just begun, it would be short lived…

"Hey…" Maria timidly glanced up to meet Russell's sad green eyes.

"Russell…" Her eyes questioned him.

"I took care of those jerks…" He gingerly took her arm and began to help her to her feet.

Maria took special care in letting her hair cover her pulsing cheek. Russell took notice and barely placed his hand on the opposite cheek. She slightly recoiled at his touch, even if there was no pain, and closed her eyes, too afraid to look at him.

"Let me see…" his voice was barely a whisper.

He turned her head and she let her hair fall to its place on her shoulders revealing the red, swollen skin. Russell mumbled something inaudible earning Maria's attention again. She questioned him with large eyes and, as he caught her gaze, Russell glanced away sadly.

"He actually hit you… Sorry…"

"You… don't have to be sorry…" Maria whispered suddenly feeling sad; not for herself, but for Russell.

"Yes, I do…"

"It's okay, Russell…"

"It's not okay!" his voice suddenly angry and resentful. "I should have stopped him, that's what we're supposed to do; protect girls like you."

Maria gazed at his rueful and indignant eyes feeling her own sorrow growing. Her arms wrapped around his broad body and squeezed tightly; she wanted him to know that what he did had been enough. He should not have felt angry at himself when he had protected her. "It's okay Russell… you can't do everything! But," her eyes glanced over at the men lying in the mud, giant lumps developing on their heads. "It's enough that you showed how much you cared after something like that happened… it lets me know that… that you actually care."

Russell's cheeks tinted a light shade of pink and he returned her embrace. "Well, from now on I'll do a better job protecting ya." His grip tightened slightly. "Just so long as you stay with me."

Russell pulled away and searched for an answer in Maria's eyes. A smile stretched across her lips and her eyes sparkled with joy. "Okay!"

Russell returned her smile and suddenly pressed his lips to hers. Maria's eyes widened and she gasped in surprise. His lips were so soft; so unlike a pirate. He pulled away with a simple smirk and brushed his fingers through her hair. "That's the seal to the deal."

"O-okay…" Maria's cheeks burned brightly causing Russell to laugh and take her hand to lead her back to the Sirius where they could continue to sail the seas together.

"Oh; Maria's still here?" Morgan commented once he stepped on the ship.

"Pretty surprising. I would have thought she would run the moment she was left alone." Eduardo states.

"I decided to stay! I figured that I would manage since Russell promised to protect me!" Maria smile contently and held onto Russell's arm affectionately.

"H-hey! Don't tell them that!" he complained, cheeks flushing a deep red.

The crew members laughed and began to tease Russell mercilessly. Maria giggled to herself; she didn't care if Russell would be upset about her big mouth. She was just content being able to stay by his side as they sailed across the vast sea.


End file.
